Commission proposes to open negotiations on
a Common aviation area with Georgia

The European Commission proposed today to the
Council directives for negotiation for a comprehensive aviation agreement with
Georgia. The aim is to establish a Common aviation area between the EU and
Georgia which will remove market restrictions and associate Georgia to the EU
internal aviation market.

The agreement aims at mutually opening the respective markets and at
integrating Georgia into European aviation structures. Georgia is ready to
harmonise its legislation with European standards and to implement a large part
of the EU's aviation rules. The agreement will be a further step in creating a
wider Common Aviation Area between the EU and its neighbours by 2010.

Georgia is an important partner in the European Neighbourhood Policy. In
November 2006, a joint EU-Georgia Action Plan was adopted to support the process
of harmonization with EU rules and Georgia’s further integration into the
European political and economic structures. Georgia was one of the first
countries in the Eastern neighbourhood to sign a horizontal air services
agreement with the European Community. This has brought in line with European
law Georgia's bilateral air services agreements with 14 Member States.

The new comprehensive aviation agreement would be an important step towards
strengthening aviation relations between the two partners. Passenger and cargo
traffic between the EU and Georgia have developed markedly since 2004 with
growth of around 14 percentage points per year.